Best Boat Tours to Include on Your Next Golf Adventure
After a morning on the links, many of our clients like to spend a little time seeing the local countryside. Many of our must-see locations are easily toured by boat, and we have a few favorites. (All of these are included in the price of your trip!)
Obviously the most famous of the Scottish lakes, Loch Ness is home to beautiful scenery, hiking, and plenty of history, not to mention a famous monster whose existence we can neither confirm nor deny. Seeing the lake from the shore has its perks, and a tour of Urquhart Castle is a must. But the best way to see the entire lake and its surrounding landscapes is from a boat. An hour-long tour on the water will show you the best views of the Great Glen and the ruins of the castle, and give you a chance to feed the lake’s ducks and swans. You’ll also see informative video presentations, and a skipper who can answer any questions you may have.
If the two uninhabited rocks called the Skellig Islands look familiar to you, it may be because you recently watched “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”. The islands played the secluded home to the Jedi Luke Skywalker, and was where he trained young Rey in the way of the Jedi. The only way to get to the islands is by boat, and the tours are sometimes shut down due to weather. But the drama of the islands is worth the tour, as part of the rowdy coastline of Ireland. They’ve been called the Machu Picchu of Ireland, and Skellig Michael is best known for being home to an almost perfectly preserved early Christian monastery.
When in Cape Town, a boat tour of Table Bay is well worth it, and Robben Island should be your main goal. Named after the Dutch word for “seal”, Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to its being the site of a high security prison where many famous politicians were imprisoned during apartheid. Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma all went on to become president of South Africa. You can tour the former prison, which has a history dating back to Dutch colonization in the 1700s, as well as the lighthouse, which are now part of a living museum.
Another Irish location made famous by a film (this time as the “Cliffs of Insanity” in the 1987 classic “The Princess Bride”), the Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking from their highest height if you’re up for a hike, but viewing them from the sea provides a less intense view. Touring by ferry also helps you beat some of the crowds, and gives you a different view of these historic cliffs. The boat tour gives you an opportunity to see all 18 kilometers (11 miles) of the cliffside at a quicker pace than a hike. From the sea, you can most clearly see the uncomformities at the base of the rocks built by 300-million-year-old river channels that have cut through the shale and sandstone. You’ll also get a ring-side view of the over 20 species of birds that live in the cliffs, including the adorable Atlantic puffins and razorbills, not to mention the grey seals, porpoises, dolphins, minke whales and basking sharks.
For a lesser-known but still beautiful lake adventure in Scotland, Loch Lomond serves up a 27-square-mile lake in the south on the Highland Boundary Fault, which is considered the boundary between the lowlands and the Highlands. It’s the largest inland stretch of water in Great Britain by surface area, and includes the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, Inchmurrin. As one of Scotland’s premier boating venues, spending some time on the water here won’t disappoint. Get a tour of the islands and sail through an areas called “The Narrows” on this two-hour cruise, which will leave you enough time for a hike or a picnic.
There’s really no way to go wrong with a boat tour after your morning of golf, and we can arrange it for you as part of your golf adventure package. Contact us today to get your free quote!
